Teacher despatched ex-pupil £500 and instructed her to ‘keep out of Victoria’s Secret’

Roger Towersey, a geography teacher at Ditton Park Academy in Slough, has been banned from teaching after a panel deemed his behaviour was ‘clearly unprofessional’

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A teacher who transferred £500 to a former student and told her to “stay out of Victoria Secret,” has been banned from the profession. Roger Towersey, 37, previously a geography teacher at Ditton Park Academy in Slough from 2018 to 2025, also handed over £1,000 to vulnerable pupils for fast food.

A panel deemed his conduct “clearly unprofessional.” He initiated contact with Pupil A on TikTok just prior to her 18th birthday, wishing her a ‘happy easter’, and their conversation continued to cover topics such as shopping, money and college, a Teaching Regulation Agency was told.

He also sent money to the ex-pupil four times, totalling £500 over a two-month period and exchanged a series of messages with her between October 2023 and April 2024, according to the Mail.

One message to Pupil A from Mr Towersey read: “Be careful they will wonder where all the ££ came from. They will think your dealing or doing only fans. [laughing emoji]”

“Don’t be getting anything too nice, I don’t want to be responsible for either of you pulling and accidentally getting pregnant,” another message from Mr Towersey stated.

“Stay out of Victoria Secret aswell [laughing emoji] Only joking have a good time while I’m b****y working. Its all I do, eat, sleep, shit and work. Adulting is not fun. [angry emoji].”

He also enquired about her sporting activities, to which the former student responded: “All sorts.” The ex-geography teacher then retorted: “Wow, No wonder you stay in such good shape.”

Documents viewed by the panel revealed that Towersey answered the former pupil’s request for £4 by offering to send her £20.

On a separate occasion, Pupil A asked the geography teacher for money again as she was going out with family, to which he replied: “Blimey [Pupil A]! You spend fast! Okay, but last time for this month.”

During a meeting with the school on 23 April 2024, Mr Towersey admitted: “As soon as I offered [to help Pupil A with money], I realised it was a stupid thing to do.”

He further explained that he initiated conversation with the ex-pupil because he wanted to ensure she had someone to talk to and acknowledged that he “knew it was beyond [his] remit.”

Mr Towersey confessed at the meeting ‘In hindsight [he] forgot that she was an ex-student and was just a normal person’.

He also conceded that it wasn’t language he would use in a professional context and that he knew ‘this to be wrong.’

He had also splashed out £1,000 on takeaway food for Pupil B and Child C, admitting to allowing both to enter the school premises at weekends while instructing Pupil B to keep it a secret.

Several CCTV clips, viewed by the panel, showed both pupils meeting with Mr Towersey at the school.

When Pupil B was questioned about the frequency of their visits to Ditton Park Academy outside of school hours, they responded: ‘lots of times…every weekend last year…maybe 100 times…[Mr Towersey] didn’t tell us that we should not come here.’

The panel concluded that Mr Towersey failed to alert anyone that the two children had informed him they were hungry or cold and that they had visited the school outside of hours on numerous occasions between July 2024 and January 2025.

In a written statement submitted to the disciplinary hearing, he explained how he believed his actions were providing a ‘net benefit to Pupil B’ and that the pupil’s ’emotional wellbeing had improved and he was performing better academically’.

“This was a reason I thought I was doing something that was in the grand scheme of things reasonable, even though risking my job he was doing well. I did not consider that [Pupil B] was at risk of neglect,” he wrote.

The panel determined his behaviour was ‘clearly unprofessional’ and that his repeated attempts to ‘gain a level of familiarity with pupils’ were not ‘appropriate’ for a teacher-student relationship.

Mr Towersey was indefinitely banned from teaching on March 3, and is now prohibited from teaching in any sixth form college, school, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.

However, he does have the option to apply for the restoration of his eligibility to teach.

A spokesperson for Ditton Park Academy stated: ‘The safety and wellbeing of our students is always our top priority. Our safeguarding procedures are robust, well established and regularly reviewed.

‘Whenever concerns arise, we take them extremely seriously and follow all statutory guidance and policy.

‘As a result of this the teacher concerned was dismissed by the academy.

‘It was our school community who raised the concerns and it was our own prompt action, including investigation and liaison with outside agencies, which led to the TRA referral.’